The Great Danny Williams
by HipsterMaybe
Summary: "No! Steve, get down!" He would never forget those words. They were burned into his memory for the rest of his life and, try as he might, he could never forget them. Those were the last words spoken by the great Danny Williams before he took the bullet meant for his partner. Kind of a sad little one shot. Rated T. Complete. I own nothing but the plot I came up with.


**Hi. So, I know I've been kind of out of fanfiction for a little bit. Blame my defective laptop! I may not be a member of the Geek Squad, but I am pretty sure that the screen is supposed to stay attached to the keyboard. Anyway, here's a story!**

***POSSIBLE TISSUE WARNING (There, you happy? I warned you!)**

"No! Steve, get down!" He would never forget those words. They were burned into his memory for the rest of his life and, try as he might, he could never forget them. Those were the last words spoken by the great Danny Williams before he took the bullet meant for his partner.

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It was a day like any other, as far as they were concerned. A case, a gunfight, a car chase, and the inevitable occurrence of ending up at some abandoned warehouse that never seemed to be in short supply for today's criminals. The Camaro, driven by Steve as per usual, skidded to a halt in the gravel lot behind the warehouse, and both men exited the vehicle, guns drawn, eyes laser focused. Knowing Chin was only moments behind them, they proceeded into the building. Normally, Danny would have at least offered a feeble objection to this kind of recklessness, but this case was different. Kirkovich was holding Kono in there and they all knew that they could ill afford to gamble with her life. They knew that if they waited much longer, Kirkovich would know that they had given him the wrong file and he would kill her. So, against his better judgement, Danny readily agreed to Steve's hastily formed plan. As they raced down the hall toward the light shining from beneath a closed door, they held their breath, listening for any small snatch of conversation that could give them something to go on. Just before the door, they paused.

"You see, Officer Kalakaua, your team has been kind enough to provide me with the Petrov file. You are no longer required, so unfortunately, I shall have to...dispose of you." They could practically hear Kono roll her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. Just do it already. What is so important about that file anyway?"

"Well, I suppose I can tell you. It's not like it makes much of a difference now ." They heard the Kirkovich's computer beep softly, telling them that he had inserted the drive. The next sound they heard was Kirkovich cursing loudly in Russian. Knowing that their plan had been discovered and that the dynamic in the room had just changed, Danny kicked open the door and followed Steve into the spacious room. Steve immediately put a bullet between Kirkovich's eyes, while Danny ran to Kono. Aside from a small bruise on her cheek, she was unharmed.

"What took you so long?" she joked, flashing her dazzling smile at the Jerseyan. He laughed and grinned as he undid her cuffs.

"Traffic, babe. You know how it is." Once she was free, he pulled her into hug and Kono was instantly reminded of the embrace he had shared with his daughter shortly after he had saved her from Rick Peterson. Though their tones and light words had belied their fears, the hug said it all. Every single minute that Kono had been missing, Danny had worried for her. It didn't matter to him that she was capable and resourceful, because worrying was what Danny did best. If he didn't, then no one else would. As much as Steve joked about his partner's 'mothering', he relied on it. So he let Danny continue to worry, as his concerns usually served them all well. Joining his team mates, he followed Danny's lead as they both out their arms over Kono's shoulders and walked towards the exit. They were maybe ten feet from the parking lot Danny noticed a red dot on Steve's chest. As his eyes followed the line backward, he saw the distinctive glint of a gun barrel. Even though fear gripped his heart, it did not paralyze him when he heard the click of the safety being thumbed off.

"No! Steve, get down!" he shouted, throwing Kono out of harm's way as he ran to push his partner to the side. But the shot came too fast. There was no time to push Steve away, only time to pause and allow the bullet to take him instead. In the microsecond before metal collided with flesh, his eyes met Steve's. The shock of realization burned bright in his partner's eyes as he realized what Danny was about to do. Danny offered a sad half smile while his eyes said all that needed saying. And then Danny was falling backwards, his arms pinwheeling behind him. Kono was screaming and Steve might have been, but he couldn't remember. As he slid to his knees next to Danny, he heard a single shot and a moment later, the sound of a body hitting the hard cement floor. In the back of his mind, he knew Kono must have killed the sniper, but he wouldn't process that fact until later. He had eyes only for Danny. Finding the wound wasn't hard as the blood pouring from Danny's head was plain to see. The bullet lay, deformed, in the ever growing pool of blood around Danny's head. Steve was screaming now, that he knew. An animalistic cry of rage and grief tore from his throat as he begged for Danny to open his eyes. He placed his large hand over the deep furrow in Danny's skull, but it did nothing to stop the blood from welling up between his fingers. The ambulance arrived with Chin, and he and Kono had to pull Steve off of Danny's body as the paramedics descended upon the detective. They held him close as they watched their lives as they knew it crumble and fall.

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In the end, the doctors said it was Danny's height that had sealed his fate. The bullet had been aimed at Steve's heart, but it had hit Danny's head instead. The hollow point had torn it's way through the right side of Danny's skull and had come to rest on the floor beside him. Now, four months later, Steve sat by his partner's side, but instead of the of their usual fraternal banter, Danny was silent. He had been for a very long time. The doctors had said that there was no brain activity and the Danny they knew was gone. Only a hollow shell of the once larger than life detective remained. When the doctors asked whether the family wished to keep him on life support, Steve very nearly attacked the doctor. Every day after work, Steve found himself here at the hospital, hoping that his partner would open his perceptive, blue eyes just one more time. Despite their occupation, Steve had never imagined that this would ever be Danny's fate. Maybe it was his hope that Danny would be able to grow old with Grace and be the father he loved to be. Grace came by sometimes, but even she realized that her Danno was gone. One day, she had kindly tried to explain that to her Uncle Steve, but she could see it in his eyes that he would never accept it. Guilt and grief had driven him nearly to the edge and only his fervent hope that Danny would wake kept him from going off the ledge. Each day, Steve would come by and talk to Danny. He would tell him everything from the latest case they were working to old stories from his childhood. In a dark way, it was almost funny to his fractured mind that while danny had once been the talker and Steve the listener, their roles had reversed. Chin and Kono had tried to help Steve, but he wouldn't allow them to. If he was reckless before, after the shooting he was practically throwing his life away. Steve had retreated so far into himself that he was completely distant and unreachable, living from case to case. A part of him knew that Danny would not have wanted any of this, but he couldn't let go. After all, how was it fair that he live while Danny's heart only still beat because of a machine? Every breath he took felt stolen and he wished he could give it to Danny. But he couldn't all he could do know was sit here, day after day, and talk to the lifeless shell of the Great Danny Williams.

******Ok, sadder than I intended. A bit depressing, I know, but it's been a hard week. A friend of my brother and by extension, a second brother to me, was taken off of life support this week. He had been living brain dead in a hospital for almost a year after taking some shrapnel to the head in Afghanistan. On Friday, his wife decided to do as her husband would have wanted. A very hard day, but he's finally at peace. Anyway, sorry about the sadness, promise for some humor later and an update to Nalowale Kane soon!**


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